A Bruised Bumble: Haters Hear Me Out! by Wishpaw

Wishpaw takes a look at Bumblestripe’s actions in the series.

Art by Climbstudios (source: Pinterest)

Okay, this one is going to be long, so hear me out.
Now, as you guessed from the title, I will be defending Bumblestripe who is (in my opinion, unfairly, but alas) judged from his actions against Dovewing. Now, I’m not saying that Dovewing is bad, or that she was wrong in ending the relationship, but I AM saying that Bumblestripe is not that bad. And that rumor that ‘everyone who likes him is just a Dovewing hater?’ Definitely untrue. Now, why do I like Bumblestripe? Three words:

He was believable.

Let’s take it from the beginning. Bumblestripe was born to Graystripe and Millie along with Briarlight and Blossomfall. When Briarlight injures her spine and is no longer able to move her back legs, her mother seems to pay far more attention to her, which isn’t exactly beyond reason. Seeing one of your children hurt is difficult and would make anyone in their right mind worry. But the effects of her negligence are harsh, and Bumblestripe and Blossomfall are left scarred by both their own rejection and their sister’s injury. These two are closer than ever before. And this makes sense. Them two have just lost something very precious to them. But then he gains his crush on Dovewing. He tries to spend more time with her, but Blossomfall is angry with him.

This is the divergent point between the two. Blossomfall and Bumblestripe are severed from each other, and once again Bumblestripe has any support he once had ripped right out from under him. How these two process and act upon their mutual rejection makes sense to their characters completely. At this point, Dovewing is all he has left. So, he begins to try to get closer to her. But he is going way too fast. Dovewing is uncomfortable with him. He acts this way because he fears being rejected by her. But his experience in how to keep a steady relationship has been forever altered by Blossomfall. Blossomfall was the closest relationship he had ever had, and what caused that one to die out? Simple: his choice to try and form other relationships. The main female figure in his life was always Blossomfall. Therefore, he had been taught by his experiences with his sister and best friend that this is the way to behave during a relationship. So, he begins to rely exclusively on Dovewing for social interaction.

And then Dovewing meets Tigerheart. I’m sure you all know what happens next. Dovewing falls in love and moves on from Bumblestripe. And Bumblestripe, too, eventually moves on, forming a friendship (at the very least) with Cherryfall. And, frankly? This is a perfect conclusion. His sibling bond with Blossomfall taught him the importance of loyalty and sticking with those you love during hardship, and his relationship with Dovewing taught him not to rely on only one person for relationship support. It needed to happen and it needed to end. He now has all the tools he needs to succeed in his social life and start again. He is given a happy ending, and after having it all taken away time and time again, things are finally looking up for him.

Now, let’s compare this to another character I’m sure many of you would recoil at the mention of: Ashfur. He was born to Whitestorm and Brindleface along with his sister Ferncloud. While he is an apprentice, his mother Brindleface is killed. Later, he gains a crush on Squirrelpaw and is frustrated when he chooses Brambleclaw instead. But then, for no reason, he goes full murder mode! He was ready to kill her kits! But… Why, exactly? I mean, yeah, Squirrelflight’s rejection hurt, but where did the ‘go psychopath’ idea come from? Maybe he was angry that Brambleclaw was the son of his mother’s murderer? But if that were true, wouldn’t he be madder at Brambleclaw? His actions make no sense and have no foundation in experience.

Okay, so here’s the part where I talk about Dovewing. As much as I appreciate Bumblestripe’s character, I am unwilling to lie and say that he and Dovewing were meant to be. The relationship was, in fact, unhealthy, and Dovewing had every right to end it. She is not, never was, and never will be obligated to love him. The relationship was unhealthy. Bumblestripe was far too attached, and if Dovewing doesn’t want him, then she doesn’t want him.

But I get the feeling that right now, Bumblestripe is still in the ‘anger’ phase. Because of his closeness, he finds it harder to accept. But this means a perfect opportunity to wrap up his character arc. I’m thinking an apology to Dovewing would suffice, and a new relationship with someone else. My last comment on this is he can’t stay mad forever. Eventually, he’ll redeem himself.

But I guess we’ll have to find out. Maybe he’ll turn into a better developed Ashfur. But hopefully not. We don’t need that again.

But anyway, what are your thoughts on Bumble boi? Take the quiz at this here link:
https://www.strawpoll.me/17554237
Wishpaw out!

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14 comments

  • I really agree with you Wishi! Before I didn’t really like him because I thought he was too possessive, but now, reading your article, I realized there are reason behind his actions. Great article! You changed my mind 😉

  • While I don’t love or like Bumble, this article did make me neutral on him because there was a reason to his actions. While people do ship Rose x Bumble for him having a healthy relationship, I’d rather him be with Cherryfall mainly because of some scenes in more recent books. Honestly, I’d have both him and Dovewing apologize (if Dovewing didn’t already) for both sides of their unhealthy relationship and move on. Nice article 🙂

  • I think it was Bumblestripe’s crush on Dovewing that ruined his relationship with Blossomfall. Nice article! I love both Bumblestripe and Dovewing. 🙂 I hope Bumblestripe and Rosepetal become mates. <3

  • This is a great article, Wishi! While I still don’t like Bumblestripe, I’m a bit more neutral on him now. I see that what he was doing made sense and it was realistic.

  • These are very good points. Although I’m still sort of annoyed with Bumblestripe for the extent of his attachment (Hey, Purdy just died? Let’s have kits!) I can understand where it comes from, and, while I certainly don’t hold it against Dovewing for not wanting a romantic relationship with Bumblestripe, I don’t dislike him for wanting one, and even some of the more drastic, uncalled-for things he did added to his character and hopefully he learned from them.

  • Good article! I don’t like Bumblestripe too much, but most of my dislike of him comes from the fact that he doesn’t do much throughout the series OTHER than being clingy to Dovewing and yet he has a lot of fans who love him and hate Dovewing for rejecting him and think BumblexDove would’ve been more healthy than TigerxDove. But you’re right that not EVERYONE who likes Bumblestripe is a Dovewing hater or a BumblexDove shipper.
    I do want to point out that Tigerheart and Dovewing’s relationship started before Bumblestripe seemed to have feeling for Dovewing. I’m not entirely sure, but I know Tigerheart and Dovewing started their bond in The Fourth Apprentice and started meeting in Fading Echoes, the same book Briarlight had her injury in. But yes, Dovewing didn’t even know about Bumblestripe’s feelings for her until after she already started having feelings for Tigerheart, so that was another reason she was uncomfortable with the idea of being in a relationship with Bumblestripe, but even without Tigerheart, and even for that time when she was with Bumblestripe after ending her relationship with Tigerheart before it started again, she was uncomfortable with Bumblestripe just because she didn’t have the same feelings for him that he did for her.
    My other problem with Bumblestripe is just the fact that he asked her to have his kits after they weren’t even mates anymore and acted really upset and angry when she said “No” once again.
    I do hope he ends up becoming better though, because honestly, he could end up being a good cat. He’s obviously already better than Ashfur. I want him to move on from Dovewing (and maybe they can even reconcile, like what you and Hazelholly said) and possibly find a mate who he loves and who loves him back. I personally ship BumblexRose, but I don’t know if that’s going to be a thing.

    Anyway, that’s just my thoughts/opinion, and once again, good article!

  • That is why I LOVE Bumblestripe!
    I think the writers have moved on from Bumblestripe and Dovewing – YAY. That means that it’s highly unlikely that Bumblestripe will become another Ashfur. That means that he’s essentially overcome his anger at Dovewing and moved on (ish). Also, another Ashfur thing would be too repetitive

  • Hey Wishi, do you have Wattpad? If so, you should SO read “Bumblestripe’s Insanity” by @CrazystarThunderClan. Don’t want to spoil but Dovewing rejects Bumblestripe and he goes insane. And he kills a ton of cats. *nervous blink*. Yeah.

    If you finish that book, plus the whole BSI trilogy, read “101 Ways to Kill a Cat” by @CloudtailGrandmas (Crazystar is the founder). It is so funny! Then read the sequel, “21 Ways to Resurrect Your Stupid, Stupid Brother).

    Yeah so those are my Wattpad book recommendations.

    PS: Ma account name is @Pebbleshine238
    PPS: If ya don’t have Wattpad, sorry for wasting your time.

    • Oof my school blocked Wattpad
      Also, congrats on your article! Loved it!

  • Even if he went through a lot, it doesn’t mean harassment and peer pressure into a relationship OKAY in any way, shape or form.

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